burghsportsguys wrote:I see Whitney very high on a lot of the lists, but I don't think they're missing him at all. In fact, if they were to deal Whitney for a scoring winger, this team would be much better positioned to make a run at the Cup.

Are you kidding me? This team severely misses Whitney right now. Him and Gonchar being out is the reason we can't make a breakout pass to save our lives.

And we've had significantly fewer breakdowns in our own zone as well. It's the give and take with offensive defensmen.

burghsportsguys wrote:I see Whitney very high on a lot of the lists, but I don't think they're missing him at all. In fact, if they were to deal Whitney for a scoring winger, this team would be much better positioned to make a run at the Cup.

Are you kidding me? This team severely misses Whitney right now. Him and Gonchar being out is the reason we can't make a breakout pass to save our lives.

And we've had significantly fewer breakdowns in our own zone as well. It's the give and take with offensive defensmen.

That part is true, but to say they're not missing Whitney isn't correct. He'll learn to play better defense in time, and he played OK defense in his rookie season. I believe last season was an aberration. 'Course, that's just my opinion.

Why So Serious? wrote:Actually, he was a monster since the moment he was paired up with 55.

Bingo. For some reason, Orpik really, really 'got it' once he was paired with Gonchar. Before that, he was enigmatic - now, he's steady.

I disagree. I think people only started to notice how well he was playing once he was paired with Gonchar. The couple weeks before the move, he played really well with Letang. Something seemed to "click" after his brief stint at wing.

Why So Serious? wrote:Actually, he was a monster since the moment he was paired up with 55.

Bingo. For some reason, Orpik really, really 'got it' once he was paired with Gonchar. Before that, he was enigmatic - now, he's steady.

I disagree. I think people only started to notice how well he was playing once he was paired with Gonchar. The couple weeks before the move, he played really well with Letang. Something seemed to "click" after his brief stint at wing.